The Celtics don’t have to touch their last roster spot if they don’t want to. They’re sitting just under the tax, they already have the minimum number of players committed, and this summer has already shown they’re comfortable saying no to bigger names like Bradley Beal.
That tells you plenty about where Boston stands. The roster looks set, and any late addition would likely be about insurance more than impact.
If the Celtics do bring in another body, it would probably be someone who can step in when injuries or rest leave them short-handed. That’s where Nicolas Batum starts to make a lot of sense.
At 38, Batum is no longer the all-purpose wing who could do a little bit of everything at a high level. But he still checks useful boxes: he can hit threes, make the extra pass, and give a team some lineup flexibility because of his size and length. For Boston, that kind of skill set could matter in the same way Blake Griffin once did.
Griffin became one of Joe Mazzulla’s better success stories in Boston. By the time he got there, the explosion was gone, but the feel for the game remained.
When the Celtics needed help in the frontcourt, he fit cleanly into what they wanted to do. The rebounding, the effort, the shooting - all of it turned him into a real piece, not just a warm body.
There were even nights when Boston putting Griffin in the starting lineup because Al Horford was resting felt like a small event.
Batum could fill that same kind of role.
That matters even more now because Boston added Paul George and Mitchell Robinson, two players who can change a game but also come with durability questions. The Celtics’ wing depth should help cover for George if he misses time. Robinson is a different situation.
Neemias Queta and Luka Garza are both productive and not injury-prone, but there’s value in being prepared. If one of them - or both - runs into trouble, Batum could serve as an emergency big. Amari Williams handled himself well when Boston needed him in a shorthanded spot, but having another option never hurts.
Batum also brings a specific kind of experience. He was a real part of the Clippers’ rotation last season, playing 74 games and averaging 17.5 minutes per contest. He even helped them when they used him as a small-ball five.
Boston doesn’t need to make a move. But if the Celtics decide they want one more depth piece who fits their style, Batum looks like the cleanest option left among the unrestricted free agents.
In Other News...
Former Celtic Weighs In On What Really Drove Jaylen Brown Trade
Nikola Vucevics brief stop in Boston gave him a front-row seat to a Celtics team still trying to sort out its long-term shape, and he said in a recent interview that he never got the sense there were player conflicts driving anything behind the scenes. Even so, he admitted he was surprised when Jaylen Brown was moved after nearly a decade alongside Jayson Tatum, a pairing that defined the franchises modern era and made Bostons roster decisions easy to track but hard to solve.
Vucevic pointed instead to the bigger structural problem the Celtics were facing: building around two max-level stars while working within the leagues salary rules. Brown was eventually dealt to the Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George and draft picks, a transaction that underscored how expensive it had become to keep the core intact. For Boston, the trade was less about one isolated issue than the reality of trying to keep a contender together in a cap system that leaves very little room for error. [Read more 🡒]
Bill Simmons Just Shifted The Celtics' Paul George Debate
Bill Simmons spent the early part of the summer sounding skeptical about the Celtics gamble on Paul George, a reaction that fit the way plenty of fans looked at a deal built around a veteran wing with an injury history and a recent dip in production. Bostons decision to send Jaylen Brown and multiple future draft picks to Philadelphia for a 36-year-old small forward was always going to be judged through the lens of risk, age and whether the roster was giving up too much certainty for a name with a big reputation.
But on his podcast, Simmons said he has now talked himself into supporting the trade, a notable shift for one of the franchises most recognizable voices. It does not end the debate in Boston so much as change its shape, because the Celtics still have to prove that betting on George is worth the cost of Brown and all those future assets, and that is the part of the conversation that will linger well past the initial reaction. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Face One Roster Puzzle That Could Decide Their Ceiling
Boston enters the 2026-27 season with a reshaped roster and the familiar expectation that it should still be in the mix near the top of the East. The Celtics are projected to land somewhere in the No. 3-5 range, with the Knicks and 76ers looming as the kind of competition that can quickly expose any soft spots. Joe Mazzulla is expected to spend the early part of the season testing different lineups and rotation patterns, trying to keep the group both flexible and locked into the winning standard that has defined the franchise for years.
Jayson Tatum, Payton Pritchard, Derrick White and Paul George are all set to carry major responsibilities, but the bigger question is how the pieces fit when the games start piling up. Bostons ceiling may come down to whether Mazzulla can settle the right combinations early enough to build rhythm without sacrificing the defensive identity and shot-making that keep this team dangerous. In a conference with little margin for error, the answer could shape whether the Celtics are merely solid or something more threatening by spring. [Read more 🡒]